Tidy up the copies you already have

Reduce a pile of near-identical letters to one, without deleting anything you are unsure about.

There are two honest reasons to make a separate copy, and neither of them is nervousness.

Key points

• Tidy a pile of near-identical copies without deleting anything you are unsure about.
• Say when a second copy genuinely is the right answer.
• Give the one you keep a name that dates itself.

What to remember

• Sort by date changed, keep the newest, move the rest into Old versions. Never delete what you are unsure about.
• Move rather than delete. Tidying you are uncertain about is tidying that never happens.

Try this

Find the worst pile in your own Documents — the one with final in two of the names. Make a folder called Old versions, put all but the newest into it, and rename the newest with the date at the front. Ten minutes, nothing deleted.

Practice: Tidy up the copies you already have. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.

Related guides

• Everything from one store, in one folder
• A list that stays tidy
• Naming things so you can find them in two years
• One folder, or twenty
• Six copies of the same letter